Girls like Cars and Money
by writhen heart
Summary: Sirius' birthday is coming up and of course, his friends have to get him something special. If that means sweating it out in a car park, putting up with creepy men and awful colds, then so be it. Marauder fluffiness. Muggle!AU. For Liza.


**Disclaimer:** Don't own Harry Potter.

**Rating: **T

**Warnings: **Little bit of sexy times, haha. Not really, just some making out :P

**Dedication:** Written for my wonderful, amazing friend Liza's birthday. Love you, darling, I hope you enjoy xoxo

**Also:** Entered in the _Star Challenge_ for Capella, Marauders era, and the _Fanfiction Scavenger Hunt Competition_ for a Muggle!AU.

**A/N: **Happy Marauder times, yay! Alternating 1st person PoV.

* * *

It was with great difficulty that I kept a hold of the soapy sponge instead of hurling it at Potter's face. Well, James' face. I suppose I really should call him that now that we're – I can't believe I'm saying this – going out. He seemed to realise that he was on thin ice, because he kept his distance, crouching low on the other side of his beat up Ute.

"Come on, Evans, this _is_ fun," he insisted. Huh. Maybe I shouldn't bother to refer to him by his first name then.

"If this is what you consider fun, I think I'll retract my concession to be your girlfriend. This is a nightmare."

James just smiled, this dreamy look shining in his chocolate eyes, as he continued sloshing water over the tray with a bucket.

I sighed and stood back. "I think it's done, anyway."

"Doesn't matter. We have to keep washing until someone pulls up," James said.

I groaned. "No one is going to pull up. We've been here two hours."

"We had that one guy," James protested.

"Yeah, and didn't that go well."

James sniggered. "Poor Pete. At least we got twenty bucks out of the creep."

An old guy with a scraggly beard, a beer gut bursting out of a dirty singlet, and a poorly leashed Rottweiler, had pulled up in his van within the first fifteen minutes of us setting up. He'd eyed each of us with a leer, finally setting his sights on Peter.

"You," he'd said, thumbing Peter towards the van.

He'd then proceeded to loom over Peter while he washed, making sure he got deep into the wheels. Very disturbing. To such an extent that Peter had feigned a stomach ache and gone home straight afterwards. Couldn't say I blamed him.

"Maybe I should call some of the girls?" I suggested.

"Why?"

"We might have more luck drawing customers."

James walked around to my side of the Ute, arms crossed, pouting exaggeratedly. "What, I'm not fit enough to attract the customers?"

Looking him up and down, it was very hard to deny that he was most _certainly_ fit enough. Hair ruffled, chest broad and lean, the water from washing the Ute trailing down to the band of his board shorts. Phew. I had to turn around to hide the blush that was surely blossoming on my hot cheeks.

"_I _certainly am, at least," I said instead, "but it can't hurt to have a few extra hands."

I hurried over to my car and pulled out my mobile. Emmeline went straight to voicemail. Marlene answered on the third ring.

"Yeah?" she croaked.

"It's Lily. Are you okay, Marly?"

Marlene coughed. "Got a cold. What's up?"

"Oh," I hesitated. "I was just wondering if you could help with the car wash. But if you're not feeling well, that okay."

"For Sirius, right?"

"Yeah."

There was a pause. "Alright. Where are you?"

I gave her the address of the parking lot and she promised to be there as soon as possible.

"Any luck?" James asked as I returned, and I took a moment to admire his shoulders flexing as he reached over the roof with a sponge.

"Marly's coming, even though she sounds really sick."

"What a sport."

I sat on the curb in the shade of the Ute, feeling my skin starting to prickle from the inevitable sunburn.

* * *

His skin burnt and it sent a thrill through the tips of my fingers right through my entire body. I pushed him down, straddling his hips on the bed, and ran my hands higher under his shirt. He licked his lips, his silver eyes glinting, and pulled me down by the neck. We kissed like our lives depended on it. I really couldn't care less that the lack of oxygen was making me lightheaded. He worked his way from my mouth down my neck and a purr welled up in my throat. I felt Sirius' smirk against my skin.

"Well don't stop," I said, pressing my hands harder into his chest.

He laughed huskily and I gasped as his breath ran over my skin. "Oi, that tickles!"

"Sorry," he said, and even though he was too close for me to see his face, I could tell from his amused tone that he was anything but.

The pause in the action had lasted far too long for my liking, so I slipped my hands out from his shirt and leant back, intent on pulling it off. He didn't make it easy, refusing to unthread his fingers from my hair.

"_Sirius_," I whined.

He conceded with a long-suffering sigh, then helped me pull off my own shirt. I leant back down, and it was skin and against skin – _much_ better.

"What did I do right to earn this pleasure?" Sirius asked breathily as I mimicked his recent neck ministrations.

"Ah… early birthday present?" I murmured between kisses.

"Mmm."

He slid his warm hands down my bare back and tucked them into my jean pockets, pulling our crotches tantalisingly close. I moaned as the jeans suddenly became way too tight in the front. I put one hand behind me and led his hands to the zipper. He didn't need any more instruction, quickly undoing the button and zipper and peeling the jeans off, stripping my briefs with them. I kicked them off. Thank god he was already in his boxers. I don't think I could have handled yet another clothing obstruction. They were quickly dispensed with.

As I shifted my efforts further down, Sirius started humming a tune. I spared a curious glance up at him and he winked. "Hap-py _birth_day to _me_."

* * *

Poor Marlene. She looked dead on her feet. Nose red, and eyes watery, she padded over from her car. She was wearing a jumper over her bikini and her usually bouncy blond cork screw curls hung limply by her face.

"Okay," she sniffed. "Where are these cars?"

"Ah, they should be here soon," James said unconvincingly, leaning against his Ute.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Marly?" I asked gently. "You really should be resting."

She sneezed several times in quick succession.

"Bless you."

"I'll be okay," she croaked. "It's Sirius' eighteenth, after all."

I gave her a hug. "If you're sure."

We grabbed a couple of buckets and filled them at the tap. We'd brought an optimistic amount of soap, so we couldn't even use restocking as an excuse to leave for a while. Despite James' confidence, I was starting to lose hope.

"Maybe we should reconsider this plan," I said after another twenty minutes of sitting with our knees curled up on the curb without a bite.

"But I like car washes," James said.

I rolled my eyes. "That's because you're a perv. We're not going to raise enough money to be able to buy a helmet in two weeks, let alone a bike."

Marlene nodded. "Yeah. And it's bloody freezing out here."

It was actually bloody hot, but I nodded emphatically nevertheless.

"What do you propose?" James asked.

"What's the best way to get money fast?" Marlene pondered.

"Rob a bank," I said wryly.

"Don't be ridiculously, Lily," James scolded, and my stomach flipped to hear him say my name. "Prostitution is much more reliable."

I snorted and flung my head back in frustration. "Maybe this is for the best, anyway," I mused. "Do you really think it's a good idea for Sirius – now think about this carefully – _Sirius_, to be riding a motorbike around the streets? He can't even ride a dodgem car without smashing us all into the barriers."

James tilted his head in thought. "Yeah… But I think he does that on purpose. I'm sure he'll be much more careful with an actual bike."

"Sirius. _Careful_?"

James lips twitched and I knew he was bull-shitting me.

"James," I said warningly.

"Hey, guys, I think we've got a customer!" Marlene exclaimed.

I lifted my head excitedly. Then my heart dropped. "Bloody hell."

* * *

I could practically feel Lily's glare as we pulled up. Sirius parked and jumped out, slamming the door behind him, and I followed reluctantly.

"Well, well, well, what a pleasant surprise, to see you all here," Sirius said, hands on hips.

"Hey, Sirius," Marlene sniffed.

"What's up?" James asked nonchalantly.

"Oh, nothing much," Sirius bit. "Remus and I were just going on a chocolate run, when who should I see but my best friends, sitting around in a deserted car park having a pool party."

"Remus," James hissed. "You were supposed to be keeping him _occupied_!"

Sirius spun around. "What?! You're in on these secret little plans too?!"

I couldn't help a little bit of guilt creeping over my face and Sirius flung his arms up dramatically. "Sirius, what do you honestly think they're doing here?"

Sirius turned back to the trio and ran his eyes over James' squeaky clean Ute, the buckets of water, and sponges and soap suds on the ground.

"Umm… filming a tacky music video?"

"Wha-"

"Yep," James cut Lily off. "You got us. Ha, ha. Now how about we go get that chocolate. I've got… twenty bucks. I'll shout, early birthday present."

Sirius frowned, not convinced in the slightest. "Right. Whatever. If you guys want to be so secretive and mysterious, I won't tell you about my surprise."

"Oh, thank god, my bum's gone numb," Lily sighed, standing up and limping over to her car.

Marlene followed, having parked next to her.

"Meet us back at my place?" James called as they started their engines.

The girls agreed and drove off. Leaving me standing awkwardly beside Sirius as he glared at James.

"You know I don't like secrets."

James exhaled resignedly. "It's not a secret. It's just a surprise. For your birthday."

Sirius seemed appeased. "I bet it's not as awesome as my surprise."

James grinned. "I highly doubt that."

"Oh yeah?" Sirius challenged. "What is it then?"

"You first."

Sirius seemed to struggle for all of one second, before practically crash tackling James. He grabbed his arm and started bouncing up and down. "I bought a bike!"

James' grin dropped. "_What_?"

"A BIKE!" Sirius squealed. "A motorbike! I've only ridden it once so far, I was keeping it locked up until my birthday, waiting for a big reveal. But I'll show you now, I'll ride it to your house. And Remus," he beamed, turning to me, "you can ride on the back. You should see me in leather. Freaking hot, I tell you."

James shook his head. "Lily is going to kill me."

Sirius didn't seem to hear him. He ran back to the car, apparently too preoccupied with the thought of riding his bike to remember to ask James' about his surprise. I gave James a sympathetic smile before getting back in the car. I didn't want to waste any time. I was sure Sirius was not exaggerating about the leather.

* * *

**A/N:** Reviews are like candy :D


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